


The Oregon Trail

by fictorium



Category: West Wing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-29
Updated: 2010-11-29
Packaged: 2017-10-14 07:17:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/146778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictorium/pseuds/fictorium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/ww_pumpkins/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://community.livejournal.com/ww_pumpkins/"><b>ww_pumpkins</b></a> (for <a href="http://tidbit2008.livejournal.com/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://tidbit2008.livejournal.com/"><b>tidbit2008</b></a>)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Oregon Trail

She really doesn't think she'll like Oregon.

While Kate can tell you about the intricacies of Afghan geography, the complexities of various African religious conflicts and the best places to dump a body in no fewer that forty-three major cities, she doesn't really know much about Oregon beyond the fact that Portland is kind of full of hippies, and years ago some folks went there on a bunch of wagons. Or something like that.

Campaigns aren't something she thinks she's built for, either, since the NSA and the CIA continued on pretty much regardless of who occupied the Oval Office. Local politics are even lower on her personal radar, but she'll [grin and bear it](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grin_and_Bear_It) because Will looks great in a suit and he's got a real way with words.

The surprise is that she develops a feel for it: it's all about intelligence-gathering and strategy, it turns out. Ingratiate yourself with the locals, find out enough to blend in and to get what you want from them, it's not so far removed from working a cover in some far-flung corner of the globe.

When Will wins, like she told him he would back in the waning days at the White House, she's standing at his side. He uses the acceptance speech to propose, and that's honestly not the surprise that it should be. Will isn't great at hiding things (he's naturally messy) and while Kate didn't go looking for the ring, it was a little too easy to tell when he started getting twitchy about the bottom drawer of his desk.

She says [yes, and](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes%2C_And) not because she has to, or because the crowd is expecting it. Kate says yes because she wants to, and because even after days and nights of analysis and questioning, she's never come up with a better answer.

The real surprise is that they're good at it, and that's really the biggest win of all.


End file.
